Who Owns Martech at Start-Ups?
Scaling Martech: How Ownership Evolves as Your Start-Up Grows
Marketing technology sits at the center of modern marketing, powering or enhancing every possible customer touchpoint. Without a well-optimized stack, it’s nearly impossible to execute campaigns effectively or measure success at scale. As the martech market continues to grow (14,106 products according to the recent Marketing Landscape Supergraphic from Scott Brinker), building and managing a marketing stack is no small feat. It requires thoughtful planning, collaboration, and clear ownership—all of which vary depending on the size and structure of your company.
At early-stage start-ups, martech decisions might fall to founders or scrappy marketers juggling multiple roles. As companies scale, ownership often shifts to marketing leaders, product teams, or even engineering. The reality is that no single formula works for everyone, but understanding who owns martech and how to collaborate effectively can make all the difference.
Understanding Who Should Own Martech
At its core, marketing technology is designed to streamline marketing processes, improve efficiency, and enable personalized customer interactions. But to deliver these results, someone has to take ownership. Here’s how ownership typically evolves:
Early-Stage Start-Ups (Seed/Pre-Series A):
At this stage, martech often falls to founders or a small marketing team focused on immediate needs. Decisions are made quickly, with budgets and time constraints driving the process. Engineering may step in to handle integrations, but long-term scalability usually isn’t the priority and most good engineers won’t be terribly excited at the prospect of wearing a marketing hat for any extended amount of time.
Growth Stage (Series A/B):
As the company grows, marketing leaders (e.g., VP of Growth, Head of Marketing) typically take ownership. They align the stack with broader growth goals, ensuring tools integrate properly and serve strategic needs. Collaboration with product and engineering teams becomes essential for managing data flows and technical compatibility. Alignment with finance is also critical at this stage, because as the toolset matures, the costs rise and the contracts get longer as evidenced by many reports showing martech accounting for 29% of total marketing budget.
Later Stages (Series C+):
At later-stage companies, marketing technology becomes a central driver of the product experience, leveraging customer data to deliver highly personalized touchpoints that drive engagement and retention. Martech at this stage isn’t just a marketing function—it’s deeply integrated into the customer journey, influencing everything from onboarding to upselling.
Ownership expands to include CMOs and CTO and even CIOs as strategic partners, aligning the stack with broader company goals. Dedicated roles like Marketing Operations Managers or RevOps teams manage daily operations, while engineering, finance, and legal teams collaborate to ensure scalability, compliance, and cost-effectiveness. Martech becomes a collaborative, cross-functional effort that balances innovation with operational stability.
How to Approach Martech Ownership as a Marketer
No matter the company size and even if you don’t have formal ownership of martech, you can take steps to ensure it’s managed effectively. Here’s how:
1. Start with Your Needs (and Team’s Needs):
Begin by asking: What problems are we trying to solve? For example:
Struggling to manage leads effectively? Look for a CRM.
Campaigns taking too long to execute? Explore automation tools.
Data siloed and difficult to analyze? Consider a CDP or analytics platform.
Involve your team in these discussions. Sales, product, and even customer support teams may have valuable insights into what’s needed.
2. Collaborate Cross-Functionally:
Martech doesn’t exist in isolation. It connects marketing, sales, product, and engineering. Building a stack requires input and buy-in from these teams to ensure smooth integrations and aligned goals. For example:
Work with engineering to understand data flow requirements.
Align with sales on CRM configurations.
Partner with product to ensure tools complement user-facing systems.
3. Think Scalability:
Choose tools that can grow with your company, but also factor in how vendor costs scale based on usage. A tool might feel like overkill now, but if it aligns with your future needs, it could save time and money later. Look for solutions that balance current utility with flexibility for growth, and ensure they integrate seamlessly into your evolving stack. Consider:
Does this tool integrate with others we might need?
Is it flexible enough to handle future growth?
4. Build Relationships with Vendors:
Martech vendors can be valuable partners. Engage with them early to understand:
How their tools solve your specific challenges.
Best practices for implementation.
Roadmaps for future features and scalability.
Lean on vendors for training and support—their success depends on your success.
5. Evaluate Regularly (and Stay Ahead of AI Disruption):
Once your stack is in place, don’t let it stagnate. Schedule regular reviews to ensure tools are meeting your needs and delivering ROI. Ask:
Are we using this tool to its full potential?
Are there redundancies in our stack?
Are there better solutions for our current challenges?
How is AI disruption affecting this tool or category? Consider whether AI advancements could offer new opportunities, improve efficiency, or make certain tools obsolete.
Final Thoughts
Who owns martech at your start-up? The answer depends on your company’s stage, structure, and goals. But as a marketer, you can play a critical role in ensuring its success by:
Advocating for clear ownership.
Collaborating across teams.
Choosing scalable solutions.
Building strong relationships with vendors.
Navigating martech is challenging, but with the right mindset and approach, it becomes a powerful engine for growth. Whether you’re just starting to build your stack or refining it for scalability, remember: the best martech decisions come from collaboration, intentionality, and a clear understanding of your team’s needs.